


Breaking Down the Bones of Heaven to Make a Home

by Adel Mortescryche (Mortescryche)



Series: UraIchi Week 2018 [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: AU Urahara tries very hard to convince Ichigo to stay away from Shinigami and live a normal life, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Flirting, BAMF Kurosaki Ichigo, BAMF Urahara Kisuke, Day One, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, Happy Ending, Humor, Ichigo as always only ever does what he wants to do, M/M, Pre-Slash, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, UraIchi Week 2018, alternate universe - dimension travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 16:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14793779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mortescryche/pseuds/Adel%20Mortescryche
Summary: Ichigo doesn’t know Kisuke too well, outside of his cryptic bullshit warnings about the future, but he has to admit, the man seems to have his heart in the right place.(Or: Kisuke loses his whole world in a Winter War that went wrong. Is winning all it’s cut out to be when everyone you care for is dead?He thinks not.)





	Breaking Down the Bones of Heaven to Make a Home

**Author's Note:**

> **Head down for trigger/content warnings.**
> 
> Also crossposted to Tumblr **[here](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/post/174373585554/breaking-down-the-bones-of-heaven-to-make-a-home)**.

The man was back again.

Ichigo wasn’t quite sure how he was supposed to be reacting to interest of this kind. Punks looking to rough him up because he didn’t fit in quite right and wouldn’t be missed, sure, he knew what to do then. Some low level _chinpira_ looking to start a fight with him because he looked enough like a delinquent that they thought he was trying to make a statement, hell yeah he knew what to do then.

Guys who looked like they could be anywhere from their mid twenties to their mid thirties keeping a watch on him, though? Yeah, no, that was awkward enough that he actually spent a split second mulling over whether or not he should bring the matter up with dumbo-dad before deciding that the world _had_ to be ending if he were considering approaching his dad over _unwanted attention._

Not that it was unwanted. Or even attention, really. Ichigo had roughed up enough assholes trying to force themselves on people who didn’t want it, and this guy didn’t look the type. If anything, he just looked _sad._ Like Ichigo reminded him of someone he once knew that simply wasn’t around anymore.

The depth of the emotion almost made Ichigo wonder if he wasn’t seeing a ghost, but no, Ichigo was actually pretty good at being able to tell if someone was a ghost or not. And the guy seemed too conscious of the world around him, and too conscious of Ichigo trying to keep track of him, to really be a ghost.

When Ichigo finally _did_ confront him about it, the guy just smiled at him awkwardly, reaching up to his face and pausing before dropping the arm again.

“You’re _weird,_ you get that right?” Ichigo told him, point blank, staring at that ageless face, and the older man barked out a laugh.

“I’ve been told that before, yes. I suppose it’s good to have it confirmed as a fact,” he replied, smiling wryly, and Ichigo rolled his eyes.

“Go stare at some college kids instead, old man. I’m not interested. And if I catch you staring at any other kids instead I’ll kick your ass, see if I don’t.”

The man blinked at him owlishly, and proceeded to sputter in shock.

“You think I’m- I’m-” He didn’t get any further before doubling over in laughter. Ichigo stared at his lowered blond head with raised brows. Okay, that didn’t really go how’d expected it to go. Interesting.

“Not your aim, then?” Ichigo asked snidely. When the man looked up at him, his eyes were streaming just a bit, but that sad expression had vanished like it had never existed, instead exchanged for a wide, silly grin.

“Not really, no.” The man said laughing a little more before straightening, wiping his eyes just a bit with the sleeves of the tee he was wearing. The man looked like some kind of second hand store reject, in loudly colored pajamas and a threadbare white shirt. Not that Ichigo had any real room to point fingers, but at least he knew what went together.

Ichigo eyed him some more, then gave a long, drawn out sigh, and dropped his backpack to the ground and crossed his arms. The action got him raised brows and a sneaky little smile that was very tempting to try and punch off, but damnit, judging by all the laughter, that would just make the man laugh some more.

“You got an actual reason you’ve been stalking me then, old man? Because it’s been really fucking weird. And I’d rather you didn’t. I don’t need people giving me grief over stranger danger when I can take care of myself.”

The man hummed thoughtfully, and the smile widened out into a surprisingly handsome grin. Ichigo ignored the rush of heat that ran down his spine. Stranger danger, and all that jazz.

“Maybe I _do_ have a reason to stalk you, Kurosaki-kun,” he said, and Ichigo went still, hands tightening at his elbows. The man just laughed some more, Ichigo was beginning to think that was his answer to everything, and he bent over just a bit so he could stare more directly into Ichigo’s eyes.

“You don’t have to worry,” the man said, cheerfully enough, and oh, that just made Ichigo warier, “It’s nothing too strange. Or dangerous. I just wanted to warn you to stay away from shinigami.”

A long moment passed, where they stared at each other. Ichigo blinked slowly at him, wondering if he’d heard that right.

“Say what, now?”

“Shinigami. It’ll be for the best if you stay away from them. Oh, and stay away from other spirits too, Kurosaki-kun, you never know, you might run into a mean spirit some day!”

“Y’know, I think it was better when you were just a plain old stalker. Now you’re a _crazy_ stalker.” Ichigo remarked bemusedly. “You a friend of dumbo-dad’s? Did he put you up to this?”

For a split second, the man’s face flashed over with enough pain that Ichigo almost regretted saying anything. He covered it up with a smarmy grin immediately, though, and the regret disappeared. He really did want to punch that smile right off of the guy’s face.

“I’m afraid the estimable Kurosaki-sensei and I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting one and other till date! But I’m sure he’d agree with me on this topic,” the weirdo said, all cheery once more. Ichigo had to admit, it was one hell of a mask. If he hadn’t seen those flashes of pain, he’d never have guessed that the laughter was fake.

“Well, can’t say I believe you,” Ichigo responded dubiously. “But whatever. Stay away from shinigami? Sure, I can do that. If they even fucking exist in the first place. Ghosts, sure, but _shinigami?”_

“Ghosts do have to go _somewhere,_ one day.” The man said mysteriously, and Ichigo rolled his eyes.

“Never thought about that,” he said easily. “Well, it’s been real, old man. Go stalk someone else, now that you’re done giving me your message, okay? Bye now.”

The man’s cheer lessened, at that, and the smile that tugged at his lips looked painful.

“Good bye, Kurosaki-kun,” he replied. “Remember what I said.”

_Whatever, weirdo,_ Ichigo thought, shouldering his bag and hightailing it out of there. When he glanced over his shoulder, the man was gone.

He was almost relieved when he ran into some guys messing with the offerings made to a little girl’s memorial, on his way back home. He needed the distraction. Badly.

*

Barely a couple days later and Ichigo wished he could find the old man again and wring his goddamned neck, because his warning hadn’t been anywhere near enough to be an actual warning.

“ _Stay away from shinigami,_ he said. _Ghosts do have to go somewhere,_ he said. Not enough fucking information, old man,” he grunted under his breath, quickly pasting a smile on his face when Rukia turned to look at him, eyes narrow. She quickly looked back in front when the teacher cleared her throat, leaving Ichigo to sag forward in his seat, relieved. Rukia was a spitfire, but at least her need to ‘act natural’ and ‘blend in correctly’ at school meant that she wouldn’t try anything in the middle of class.

Ichigo’s just confused, though. From everything Rukia had been trying to explain to him, since they met and since he took her powers, the old man _had_ to have been another shinigami. No way would a regular ghost have been anywhere near as collected as him. Not outside of Soul Society, anyway. Which brought up the question – why would a shinigami warn him to stay away from shinigami?

He carefully makes no mention of the blond to Rukia, though. For all that Rukia had helped him save his sisters, and the longer he knew her the more he was convinced that she was definitely of the good sort, the old man didn’t seem to like shinigami. And Ichigo wasn’t in the habit of bringing trouble to someone else’s doorstep when they were doing him a good turn. So he resolved not to mention the old man to Rukia – right up until _she_ introduced Ichigo to _him._

Ichigo stared, flabbergasted, at the shopkeeper who smiled at him guilelessly, face half hidden in the shadow of his hat and behind the fan he had in his hand.

“We’re done here,” Rukia declared, and Ichigo blinked, turning back to her. The mod-soul was still safely held in her hand, far away from the blond old man’s grasp, but Ichigo was still reeling from everything he’d learnt through the day. And the _shopkeeper,_ couldn’t forget him.

“Coming Ichigo?” Rukia called out, and Ichigo started, walking after her at a fast clop, unable to stop himself from glancing over his shoulder back at the shopkeeper and his people. Whoever they all were. Alarmingly enough, the shopkeeper waved back at him cheerfully, face still hidden behind his fan. Ichigo hurriedly turned his attention back to Rukia, who was saying still talking about mod-souls.

Not to say that Ichigo _wasn’t_ relieved about the mod-soul not needing to die because of some rule made up by the shinigami, because that situation was just unfair all around, but he was a little busy trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. Either the old man had a twin who happened to be a shady shopkeeper who sold odds and ends to shinigami, or something _really_ weird was going on.

Ichigo was willing to bet it was the latter. His life couldn’t be easy at all, could it.

*

It wasn’t until after his fight with Grand Fisher and returning home that Ichigo _finally_ ran into the old man again.

“So, do I call you Urahara, like that other guy? Or are you going to tell me you have another name.” Ichigo said blandly, sidling up to where the old man had been watching his house.

He didn’t even have the decency to start, damn him. Instead he turned to give Ichigo a happy little smile that _lied._ Ichigo didn’t call him out on it, though. It was still close enough to June 17th that Ichigo was in no mood to call anyone else out on their bullshit. He had to admit, though; the old man looked a lot nicer without the hat getting in the way to hide his face. Now why did he get the feeling that was on _purpose._

“I thought I told you to avoid shinigami, Kurosaki-kun,” Urahara said, tone almost offensively cheerful.

“If I’d listened to you then I wouldn’t be here talking to you, now would I,” Ichigo countered.

That? Made the man stiffen up. Ichigo grinned victoriously, and didn’t bother toning it down when the older man shot him a sharp look.

“Figured it out, did you. Imagine that.” The man said, pleasantly enough. So why did Ichigo’s hair want to stand on end?

He just rolled his eyes, though, because the man was absolutely exasperating.

“Wasn’t too hard to do. Rukia said there were two kinds of spirits, and shinigami watch over the lot. You’re not like the other ghosts I’ve interacted with, and you’re definitely not a Hollow, so you _had_ to be a shinigami.”

His words earned him a strange little smile, and a sharp glance. Ichigo kept staring the man down, because he deserved some answers damnit. It had been easy enough to figure out that the shopkeeper and this man weren’t the same person, for all that they looked a lot alike – the old man just looked a whole lot more tired, and somehow older. It wasn’t the face; if anything, the old man was cleaner shaven. And probably in better shape too, even if it was hard to compare them with how baggy the other man’s clothes had been. But something about the old man’s gaze made it feel like he was older than the shopkeeper. More exhausted, too, whatever that exhaustion stemmed from.

“…you could call me Urahara if you _wanted_ to,” the old man said mildly, and Ichigo _groaned._

“Would it kill you to give me a direct answer? No one like cryptic bastards,” he grumbled, and the old man _laughed,_ seemingly unable to help himself.

“Sorry,” the old man apologized, wiping at his wet eyes, “I’ve been a cryptic bastard for long enough that I really don’t know how to be anything else.”

“Y’know what, I’m going to call you Kisuke-san. Whatever your name is. You’d deserve it for being such a pain, old man.”

That made the other man’s smile twinge towards sadness again, the depth of the emotion tugging horribly at Ichigo’s heart.

He quickly glanced away. Getting a glimpse at someone else’s darker emotions wasn’t really Ichigo’s idea of a fun time. Especially not when looking at him seemed to be reminding the other man of someone else. He almost wanted to ask if Kisuke-san, or whatever his name was, was a masochist, constantly showing up to stalk him in spite of the pain it caused the older man, but somehow, Ichigo didn’t really want to.

“You’re lucky Rukia didn’t see you,” he said instead. “I got Yuzu and Karin to distract her, and offered to wash dishes for Yuzu in return. And to do Karin’s homework for her.”

“All that effort, just for me? I’m touched, Kurosaki-kun.”

Ichigo sighed, and leaned against the wall beside the man he’d dubbed ‘Kisuke-san’.

“Don’t hurt yourself getting excited. I wanted some answers too. You’re not even going to deny being some sort of relation to Urahara, huh.”

Kisuke-san sighed, and crossed his arms, leaning more firmly against the wall too.

“I don’t see why I should. The similarities are enough that there aren’t too many excuses I could have made, once you met him.”

Something about the tone of the words made Ichigo turn slowly, staring up at him.

“Wait. You’re not saying that you actually _are_ Urahara Kisuke-san, are you?”

The other man offered him a slanted smile, and Ichigo couldn’t make himself stop staring.

“That’s, what, time travel? Are you from the future?” he asked incredulously.

Kisuke-san just laughed sadly, tilting his head up to stare at the sky.

“I might as well be, for all means and purposes. But no, not the future.”

“Parallel Dimension, then. Alternate Universe. What else do they call it…”

“All of the above?” Kisuke-san offered bemusedly, lips twitching just a bit. Ichigo grumped, and nudged him with a shoulder.

“You’d think a _dimension traveler_ would have more important things to do than stalking me. Don’t you have other things to worry about? Like, oh, I don’t know, an apocalypse? The end of times and the world as we know it? How about the freeloader sleeping in my closet because, really, I thought you were creepy and then _Rukia_ happened to me-”

“You really should have avoided the shinigami,” the other man sighed, sounding despondent. Ichigo nudged him again, grinning meanly when it got him an irritated grunt.

“Don’t I know it. If I’d avoided shinigami, I’d be able to sleep at night without constantly being afraid for my virtue,” Ichigo snarked, and Kisuke-san let out a cackle of laughter before muffling it with his fist.

“Our conversations… aren’t really going the way I expected them to,” he admitted, when he managed to control the urge to laugh. Ichigo eyed him strangely, then shook his head.

“If we know each other in the future, or in your super-secret parallel dimension, you should have expected this. Because I sincerely doubt I’m ever going to be anything other than myself.”

Kisuke-san looked like he’d been punched in the gut. Ichigo might have felt sorry for him, or tried to apologize, but he heard Rukia calling his name, and that was his cue to get back inside. So, instead, he just awkwardly patted Kisuke-san on the shoulder, and turned around to go back in. Or he tried, at any rate, before he was wrenched back by a vice-like grip around his right bicep.

“Quincy Archer hates you,” Kisuke-san said, and Ichigo peered up at him, wondering whether he should seriously consider telling Rukia or the shopkeeper about the man, so they could give him a medical check of some sort.

“Quin- _what?”_ he repeated, and Kisuke-san’s lips tucked up into a sarcastic smile.

“Try not to be too hard on poor Ishida-kun, will you. He’s delicate.”

“ _Who?”_

Kisuke just shoved him back at his gate, and Ichigo went, despairing of ever getting an actual answer out of the other man.

*

“The next time I see him, I’m going to wring his neck!” Ichigo snarled, slicing his way through yet another hollow.

“I’m not sure whom you’ve been cursing out since we started this contest, Kurosaki, but surely it could wait until we’re done!” Ishida snapped, taking out more targets, and Ichigo laughed madly, because it was either that or he’d try to wring _Ishida’s_ neck, Kisuke’s not being in easy reach.

Try not to be too hard on him, was it? Ishida-kun was _delicate,_ was he?

Delicate Ishida-kun managed to take out two hollows with a single shot, speared a third on his arrow before shooting it at a fourth, and Ichigo really did laugh then. If he weren’t so sure that this battle was going to end in tears for _someone_ , he might actually have enjoyed the contest. Ishida was a good challenger to be pitted against.

“Come with me, asshat, I could use your help!” he hollered up at the Quincy, and got a vitriolic look in reply.

“Why, exactly, would I want to help a _shinigami,”_ Ishida sneered, and Ichigo rolled his eyes, reaching out to drag him out of the way of a snake-like hollow with huge jaws that had been leaping for him. Taking it out with a single swipe of his blade, he shot a hard look back at the Quincy, who glared back at him, one hand raised to press his glasses back in place.

“Because I’m _not_ a shinigami, asshole, no matter how much you seem to want to think I am! I’m just a human who’s borrowing shinigami powers! Who also happens to have kid sisters with just as much _reiryoku_ as him, so I’d be grateful if Quincy-sama bothered to help me get them out of danger before we take out the rest of these hollow that you brought down on our heads!”

Ishida screwed up his nose, looking like he’d smelt something that had wandered up his nostrils and died there. Taking his silence for agreement, Ichigo zipped off towards where he could sense his sisters. Ishida got with the program quick enough, dragging his wrist out of Ichigo’s grip and running on his own power.

“You’re a fool, Kurosaki – your family isn’t the only one with individuals with a high spiritual power in this town.” Ishida spat, but he kept moving anyway, somehow shooting off his arrows as he went. Ichigo was willing to admit when he was beat, and Ishida’s sensing power? Was _leagues_ ahead of Ichigo.

Then again, Ichigo hadn’t even realized that this shit could be _trained_ until Rukia had happened to him. So he’d like to think he was doing okay enough on his own.

“The others can handle themselves, whoever they are – and we aren’t the only people in town who can handle hollows,” Ichigo snapped back. “I’m supposed to take care of my kid sisters first, damnit. I’ll protect everyone I can, but I’m starting with them!”

Ishida shot him a disgusted look, but apparently the idea of a shinigami asking for help was novel enough that he was willing to keep going.

“You realize,” Ishida said, in a lean period once they managed to cut through the hollows swarming between them and the park Ichigo knew Karin tended to be at this time of day, “that this is supposed to be a battle between us. You’re asking your _opponent_ for _aid._ My mind boggles at how inept you are.”

_Yadda yadda yadda,_ Ichigo thought, so far past exasperation with Ishida’s manner of speech that it wasn’t even funny anymore.

“How weak you must be, Kurosa-”

Ishida choked when Ichigo jerked him to a stop with a hand fisted in his shirt.

“Quit whining, you arrow-freak. We’ll fight later, once I’m sure the Hollows between home and where my sister is get cleared out. Y’know, the only reason I’m asking you for help is because it’s pretty clear you’re not on the side of the hollows any more than I am! So come with me, or don’t, but get a little off of you high horse and help me clear up this shitstorm you’ve thrown us into!”

Ishida stared up at him, jaw hanging a little loose. Ichigo shoved him away and kept running.

…he had to admit, he’d have been quicker to react in anger or fear if Kisuke hadn’t name dropped Ishida, earlier on. Jokes about the Quincy, whatever that was, being delicate aside, Kisuke-san didn’t seem like he had anything _bad_ planned for Ichigo. If anything, that spiel about not getting involved with shinigami seemed to be intended only for Ichigo’s benefit.

When Ishida fell into step with him, huffing under his breath, Ichigo grinned a little violently. Well, it seemed like Ishida was an okay sort. Even if he _was_ the kind of dumbass who used hollow bait to settle a squabble.

The situation doesn’t seem anywhere near as funny when they manage to show up just in time to see Chad pass out and Ichigo’s sister freak, or later, after Ichigo finally gets told who the Quincy are, but he has to admit that he’s a little relieved that Kisuke had warned him at all. He’d managed to stay a lot calmer through hollows attacking because of the older man.

*

Waking up to Kisuke-san’s dismayingly handsome face was unnerving, and he said so with a grunt, trying to turn over. The debilitating pain that washes over him is an immediate wake-up call; and a more successful one than being peered at until he woke up.

“Why, I didn’t think we were close enough to be on a first name basis, Kurosaki-kun,” the man standing by his bedside said, voice painfully cheerful, half his face abruptly hidden behind a fan, and Ichigo winced.

“Hat-and-clogs,” he corrected himself immediately, wishing for the upteenth time that there was a better way to tell the difference between the two Uraharas other than the clothes they wore. Or the hat.

Urahara’s hat, for one, was in his hand, and he neatly placed it back on his head, staring down at Ichigo curiously. _I’ve been a cryptic bastard for long enough that I really don’t know how to be anything else,_ Kisuke had said. Ichigo could believe it, from the cold, closed look in this younger Urahara’s eyes.

“Do you remember what happened?” Urahara asked plainly, and Ichigo scowled at him, levering himself back upright and gasping from the pain all the while.

“Kind of hard to forget,” he bit out in response. “Rukia’s gone and her bastard of a brother cut me down like a sheaf of rice in a field. Not to mention that other bastard Abarai-”

Which reminded him.

“How’s Uryuu? He here too? This is your home, right.”

Urahara’s fan flipped closed and a smiled without much humor. The expression reminded him enough of Kisuke that Ichigo cringed away from it.

“No, he’s already left. He did ask me to heal you though. He seems quite sure that you’re the only one who’s going to have any luck at rescuing Rukia, now that she’s been captured by the shinigami.”

“‘By the shinigami’, like you aren’t one yourself,” Ichigo grumbled, hunching over. He had a right to feeling morose when he’d gotten his ass kicked and one of his best friends had to sacrifice herself to save his sorry behind, damnit.

…from the stillness of the man standing over him, he probably shouldn’t have admitted that he knew about the Shinigami thing out loud. Well, whatever. Not like Ichigo cared. And if Kisuke wanted him to keep a secret, he probably should have tried harder to hide the truth. Ichigo didn’t rat his friends out, but he wasn’t really made to keep secrets.

“Well done, I didn’t think you had it in you.” Urahara said, finally, sounding distantly amused. Ichigo shot him a dirty look, and the older man laughed at him.

“Is there anything I can do? To get her back?” Ichigo asked, and Urahara crouched down in front of him, fingers tugging at his chin while his lips tugged up into a hard smile.

“Of course there is. All you have to do is surrender yourself to me and train for the next ten days. As you are now you’re just a weak waste of space.”

“Done.” Ichigo said immediately, no matter how much he wanted to fight back. This was supposed to be a version of Kisuke-san, and even if he hadn’t known the man for long, he had to admit he seemed to know what he was doing when it came to the shinigami.

Urahara’s smile gentled, just a bit, and it looked less like he was planning on skewering Ichigo through his futon and to the floor if Ichigo tried to protest to training first.

“Good. Well, first we need to make sure you’ve healed all the way, so you may as well attend school while taking your pills…”

Ichigo stopped paying attention to him, instead flopping back into the futon and wincing when his entire body protested loudly and with a lot of pain. It just figured that saving his friends had to go hand in hand with attending _classes._ Urahara really was an old man. Actually getting out of the _shoten_ meant he could keep an eye out for the _other_ Urahara in Karakura, though. So he didn’t protest needing to go to school when he should be focusing on healing and training to save Rukia.

Not that it made much of a difference. No matter how he kept his senses peeled, and where he looked, on his way to school and back, Kisuke-san was nowhere to be found.

*

“Your training seems to be going well.”

Ichigo _yelped,_ and nearly swallowed enough water to drown. Who cared if the water in the pool was supposed to heal him, it wasn’t supposed to do that from the _inside,_ right?

Kisuke, seating cross-legged right behind where Ichigo had been leaning, laughed helplessly, glanced at Ichigo’s most likely affronted expression and proceeded to laugh some more. Grumbling to himself, Ichigo treaded water till he could get back till the edge of the pool and crossed his arms on the ground on the other side, peering up at the other man curiously.

Kisuke’s lips just twitched up into a wry smile, not offering anything, and Ichigo had to sigh.

“So. Captain of the Twelfth?”

“Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a land far, far away,” Kisuke replied breezily, and Ichigo pressed his chin to his forearms, trying not to smile. Kisuke was an aggravating old man, but he was a _charming_ aggravating old man. And for all that Urahara had been the one to actually ensure that Ichigo was strong enough to take on Soul Society, Ichigo still couldn’t help but feel fonder of Kisuke, whose smiles seemed a lot less put on than Urahara’s did.

“Any tips on what happens next, oh all-knowing captain who’s not a shinigami?” Ichigo jibed, and Kisuke pressed an elbow to his knee, leaning his chin into his hand and grinning boyishly.

“Oh, I have plenty of tips,” he offered easily. “Doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use any of them. The upcoming battles are… complicated.”

Ichigo stiffened at that, though he didn’t move from his position at all. For one, he was comfortable, and his body ached too much to bother moving. For another, it wasn’t like he was going to get out of the water in the buff, so he might as well stay put, right.

“If _you’re_ saying that the upcoming battles are complicated, they must have gone real swell in your dimension. Your younger self running around doing crazy things here too? Yoruichi certainly is.” Ichigo replied, trying to insert some humor into his tone. It didn’t work all that well, judging by the wry look Kisuke shot him, but the older man let it pass.

“No, the other Urahara Kisuke is barred from returning to Soul Society. I was able to get through because I’m not from the same dimension; we’re structure intrinsically different for all that we look alike. As for why I’m here, well… even travelers from a parallel dimension need a place to sleep, don’t they.”

“You’re so full of shit I’m amazed at how you can keep talking without tripping over the piles of it you spew out,” Ichigo said admirably, and Kisuke rolled his eyes, reaching out with his free hand to swat Ichigo upside the head. Ichigo rubbed the top of his head, grinning victoriously.

It was weird as all heck, but even when he knew he was on a tight schedule, and that things were about to get really tough for him if Kisuke had shown up to offer pearls of wisdom judging by how things had gone till date, he somehow felt really happy anyway.

“You probably shouldn’t be trusting me quite so much,” Kisuke remarked, bland. “You don’t know how I got here. Or why I’m here at all.”

Ichigo shrugged indolently from where he was leaning out of the water, and offered Kisuke a lazy smile.

“Probably not, yeah, but you’ve had good advice so far. I’m willing to admit you don’t totally have it out for me.”

“You might regret saying that, later,” Kisuke said, his smile sad, and Ichigo rolled his eyes, reaching up with one hand to shove at one of Kisuke’s knees, jostling him lightly.

“Maybe, maybe not. For now, it’s _not._ Now tell me what you’re here for, already - you don’t show up unless you’ve got something cryptic to say.”

“What if I simply wanted to come here so I could talk to you, Kurosaki-kun. You’re such good company, after all.”

Ichigo was horrified to feel his face burn at Kisuke’s tone. Kisuke, on the other hand, leered cheerfully at him and Ichigo was tempted to dunk himself in the pool until the weird old man went back to normal. Kisuke sobered down rather abruptly, though, and he leaned his other elbow on a knee as well, half-hiding his face behind steepled hands.

“It’ll do you good to remember that there are more things happening in soul society than just the rush to execute Rukia-chan. Be sensible, and on your guard, when you’re on Soukyoku Hill.”

Ichigo eyed him archly, and shook his head, tsking.

“As cryptic as always. Couldn’t find it in yourself to give me an easy answer even now, huh.”

“Afraid not. Trying to explain anything else would only complicate things further, for you.”

“Sure, if you say so. Anything else?”

Surprisingly enough, that made Kisuke pause for a long moment, hands still obscuring most of his face. When he finally put them down, the sad smile was back.

“When you fight for your bankai, remember that all is not what it seems.”

Ichigo felt a chill go down his spine. Did Kisuke mean the Hollow? How could everything not be what it seemed when it came to a _Hollow?_ Yeah, sure, the hollow was inside Ichigo’s head, but that was Ichigo’s own fault for not figuring out where his shinigami powers were stored in time, right.

“Well, that’s it for me, I should leave before Yoruichi shows up. It wouldn’t be for the best, her meeting me at this stage.”

Before he quite knew what he was doing, Ichigo had an arm out, snagging Kisuke’s wrist before he could move into _shunpo._ Kisuke stared at the fingers curling around his wrist, then slowly turned his gaze on Ichigo, arching his brows in question.

Ichigo licked his lips nervously, feeling his heart trip when Kisuke glanced down at them before glancing back up into Ichigo’s eyes.

“Why?” he asked. “You told me to stay awake from the shinigami when we first met. Why?”

Kisuke stared down at him for a long moment, not saying anything, before finally sighing, and gently breaking the hold Ichigo had on his wrist.

“This world,” he said, “has not been very kind to you, Kurosaki-kun. And you have been nothing but giving. I was trying to do a good turn for once. Attempting to do what you might have done, had you been in my place.”

Ichigo gaped at that, and Kisuke gave a pained laugh, pushing himself back to his feet.

“Clearly I was a fool for trying. After all, you will always be yourself, won’t you, Kurosaki-kun.”

His piece said, Kisuke disappeared, just in time for Yoruichi to reappear, throwing herself into the water with a loud splash. She peeked out of the water at him when he didn’t yelp the way he usually did at her penchant for nudity.

“Everything okay, Ichigo?”

He nodded wordlessly, still staring at where Kisuke had been standing a split second ago, before forcing himself to turn away, paying attention to what Yoruichi was saying.

*

It just figures that the next time he sees Kisuke, he’s a screaming mess on the ground, unable to move because his spine’s nearly been severed in two. One moment Aizen’s got his hand in Rukia’s soul and the next he’s shoving her away and spinning around-

Only for a sword to slam straight through his gut, ripping up and out of his head.

The abrupt silence in the lull is horrifyingly tense, everyone waiting to see if he’s going to get up from that, but no. Just like that, the monster in their midst was flesh and waste on the ground. Ichigo still couldn’t move, but at least he could scream for Kisuke to get out of the way before Tosen could catch him unawares.

Renji flashed over to Ichigo’s side, another captain with long braided hair close on his heels, both of them warily watching Tosen and Kisuke go head to head with just their sealed blades, because apparently Tosen was in enough shock at Aizen’s sudden death that he hadn’t even unsealed his shikai, instead hacking madly at Kisuke as if he could kill him where he stood just with the strength of his blows.

“Urahara?” The captain beside him murmured, sounding confused, and Ichigo grunted.

“Yeah, it’s him, why the hell are all of you just standing around, you should be helping!”

“Shut up and stay down, berry-head, you’re in no state to move! Let Unohana-taichou heal you like she’s kindly offering!” Renji snapped, slapping a hand down by Ichigo’s head, though his eyes were rooted to where Rukia had collapsed to the ground, passed out in a dead faint. No one had tried to get anywhere near her, still keeping a close watch on the third captain, Ichimaru, who hadn’t moved since Aizen had gone down.

When he finally shifted in place, Ichimaru, didn’t try to help Tosen or go for Kisuke. Instead, before anyone else could think to move, he was already by Aizen’s side, staring down at his corpse. When Ichimaru abruptly snarled and kicked out at his once-master’s body, more than one person on the hill audibly choked.

“Gin!” A honey haired shinigami Ichigo hadn’t run into yet called out, looking like she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. Unohana cleared her throat and Renji immediately stood up, along with a few other lieutenants who’d heard her, making for the captain still kicking viciously at Aizen’s body.

“Ichimaru you traitor!” Tosen roared. “Get away from Aizen-sama!”

“He deserves it,” Ichimaru snapped back. “Who goes and gets themselves killed out of the blue? If it was going to be that easy I’d already have killed him by now. Why the hell did I have to waste my time playing the long game if he was this easy to kill?!!”

Zaraki snorted with laughter, while Ichigo and nearly everyone else stared at Ichimaru as though he’d gone crazy. The honey haired shinigami lieutenant who’d called the captain by name, though, she shoved past her own captain, and all but threw herself at Ichimaru, who caught her without looking, still spewing hateful remarks at Aizen’s corpse.

“You can get up now,” Unohana said, and Ichigo shoved himself up immediately, gasping out a quick thanks at her before flinging himself into the fight taking place past Ichimaru.

Kisuke just stepped aside easily, as though he’d expected Ichigo to show up where he had. Tosen certainly hadn’t; he went down like a pile of bricks.

“ **Enough,** ” boomed an old voice, and Ichigo went still, Zangetsu pressed up against Tosen’s throat. Tosen stopped moving, too, the fight draining out of him. When Ichigo glanced around, he found the old grandpa all the other captains had been deferring to slowly walking up to them, eyes barely parted, but they he leaked menace in a way none of the other captains Ichigo had gone up against had. Not even Zaraki.

“You,” the captain commander, because he couldn’t be anyone else, barked out. “You’re not Urahara Kisuke.”

“Not the one you know, no,” Kisuke replied cheerfully, smiling in a flinty way that Ichigo hadn’t seen out of him before.

The old guy watched him carefully, before giving a slow nod.

“You have my thanks. Now leave, before any other sign is seen of you, pissant.”

“You always did have such a way with words, _Soutaicho_ ,” Kisuke said, laughing brightly. But he lowered his head in a partial bow, and disappeared before anyone could utter another word.

“ _Ryoka,”_ the captain commander said. “You recognized him for what he was. You will explain.”

“It’s not like I know much about him either, but sure, okay,” Ichigo grunted, and still didn’t move off of Tosen until more lieutenants showed up to keep guard over him.

*

“Another Kisuke?” Yoruichi repeated incredulously, later, when they were all transferred into the Fourth Division’s headquarters to be healed. “As if one of him weren’t more than enough all on his own – but two?”

“Gotta say I agree,” Renji said, unnerved, and Chad and Orihime both nodded speedily, Orihime’s head bobbing up and down like a doll’s.

“But you knew about him? All along?” Uryuu asked, sounding a little disgruntled and Ichigo rolled his eyes.

“Quit feeling so left out, four eyes. He’s the reason I dragged you along to help me with my sisters, when you set off the hollow bait back home. He said something that made me sure I could trust you, so I couldn’t look at you as an enemy right off the bat even if you’d been trying to threaten me and Rukia.”

Uryuu looked like he’d been slapped, and quickly glanced away, shoving his glasses up self-consciously. Orihime giggled maniacally, while Chad smiled, as serene as always. Rukia, though, frowned in thought, stooping over.

“You never said how long you’ve known this other Urahara for, Ichigo. Did you know him before Kon showed up?”

Ichigo cleared his throat uncomfortably, glancing away himself, and Rukia punched a fist into her free hand.

“Hah! I knew it! I thought you’d been staring strangely at him when I introduced you!”

“Can you blame me,” Ichigo grumbled, “I thought they must be evil twins or something before I got Kisuke-san to explain what was going on.”

Yoruichi frowned a little, surveying him carefully. Ichigo made it a point not to look at her at all. He’d already figured out that she and Kisuke-san had to have been close, judging by how well she and Urahara got along. Meaning, more than Ichigo, it probably would have made the most sense if Kisuke-san had gone to Yoruichi to talk, if he’d been plotting against Aizen the entire while he’d been in their dimension. It was just like Ichigo had asked him before; surely a parallel dimension traveler had more important things to do than showing up to chat with a high school kid and give cryptic warnings before disappearing every few months, right?

Instead, Kisuke-san had been content to simply… spend time with Ichigo. Enjoying the past of a dimension that must have been similar to his in some ways at least, if he’d been so brusque about doing away with Aizen. Ichigo still couldn’t get the sadness tinging Kisuke’s smiles out of his head, especially right after Ichigo had laughed at him for thinking that Ichigo could ever be different from himself in any way.

He desperately wanted to know why Kisuke had made a concession for him, had tried to get Ichigo out of getting involved with Soul Society. But Ichigo didn’t even have to try to know that he wouldn’t ever get a clear answer. Not from someone like Kisuke, who was so wrapped in his own deceit that he could barely be truthful about himself. Let alone anything else.

“Anyway,” Ichigo said in a loud voice, “Enough about this, you said you wanted to stay back here, right, midget? Sure you’ll be okay over here on your own?”

The ensuing crash when Rukia threw herself at him with a snarl successfully distracted everyone from the previous conversation.

Except for Ichigo, of course.

*

“All done, then?” Kisuke murmured, popping out of nowhere behind him when Ichigo was balanced on the roof above his window.

It was sudden enough that Ichigo nearly yelled and fell off the roof. He _would_ have fallen right off the roof if Kisuke didn’t grab him by the shoulder and yank him back, making him fall over with a grunt into something softer than expected. When he blinked blearily upwards, it was to find Kisuke laughing at him, as per usual. Ichigo had somehow managed to fall right into his lap.

Ichigo felt his cheeks burn, but he didn’t make any move to get back upright, instead staring stubbornly up at Kisuke until his laughter petered out. He felt the older man stiffen, just a bit, before he relaxed again, smiling a little helplessly down at Ichigo.

“Yes, all done,” Ichigo replied, still staring directly. “Rukia stayed back, but she’s happy there, now that Byakuya’s actually paying attention to her and Renji’s talking to her again. She said they’ had a bad patch for decades before all this execution shit went down. We’re all back to our usual lives here, other than the occasional hollow.”

“Never a slow day, in Karakura,” Kisuke said, mild, and Ichigo had to grin at that.

“Yeah, no, this town ain’t ever staying quiet. What about you? You planning on sticking around, now that your alternate dimension twin knows about you?”

Because Urahara _did_ know about Kisuke, now. He had to, after Yoruichi had stepped out of the Senkaimon, hollering about how an alternate universe version of Kisuke had saved all their asses from Aizen. Ichigo hadn’t been cornered to answer any questions yet, but if he knew anything about Urahara-san or Kisuke by this point, that had to be only because Urahara was biding his time, possibly looking for Kisuke himself.

“…I might,” Kisuke said, voice low, “It’s been years since I’ve just been able to sit back and enjoy the scenery.”

“Is that what humans are to you? _Scenery?”_ Ichigo said incredulously. “I’ll show you scenery, you-”

His voice broke off into a dry croak, and his hands fisted on the roof tiles on either side of him, because the older man was leaning down, and _down,_ and- Ichigo shuddered, warmth curling at the base of his spine when Kisuke didn’t do more than gently caress their lips together.

“Is that it, you-”

Ichigo groaned at the fingers that gently glanced over the soft underside of his jaw, tilting his head up just a bit to get a better angle. He got his hands up so he could curl them into Kisuke’s hair, dragging the older man closer still, their lips sliding together just a bit before Ichigo gave in and opened his mouth, wanting more of that wet warmth.

“Like I said, _scenery,”_ Kisuke said breathlessly, when he finally pulled away.

Ichigo couldn’t help but laugh, and drag him down for another kiss.

*

He might not have any answers, but did he need them, anyway? He could figure them out, eventually, and even if he didn’t, it didn’t really make much of a difference. All he knew was that Kisuke was the good sort, for all the scheming he seemed inclined to doing. And he had Ichigo’s best interests at heart. Anything more than that? Could wait.

Ichigo would deal with it when it came.

**Author's Note:**

>  **TW/CW:** The biggest one I can think of is that Ichigo and Alt!Urahara begin to interact right before canon begins. Urahara doesn't begin this interaction with intentions to begin a romantic relationship with Ichigo, but it _does_ eventually end in a romantic relationship. Proceed with caution if this situation or Ichigo's age make you uncomfortable.
> 
> \---
> 
> Hi there! This is my first purely Bleach fic; the only other fic I've posted in this fandom is a crossover with KHR which is a Gen fic. I'm... not actually surprised that it turned out to be a Time/Dimension Travel Fic or a Fix-It. Or that it was for an UraIchi event. I happen to be really partial to both. Ahaha.
> 
> Hope you liked my take on Ichigo, Kisuke and the others! **Kudos and Comments are very welcome.** My responses have slowed down owing to trouble with my mental health, but you _will_ get a response.
> 
> \---
> 
> For anyone interested, the next new AO3 post from me will be: Day Two's Submission for UraIchi Week 2018 and one of my backlogged fills for YOIFantasyWeek 2018 - featuring a Phoenix!Yuuri.
> 
> You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/)** \- come by and say hi! I don't bite.


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